Data networking is a term colloquially applied to any architecture wherein electronic devices (e.g., computer systems, communication devices) are communicatively coupled to one another through a network architecture. The network architecture is typically comprised of a number of network devices, e.g., routers, switches, and hubs, which serve to route data packets (sometimes colloquially referred to as datagrams) between electronic devices.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are many different types of networks and an associated number of communication protocols through which such devices communicate. Typically, a network device is designed to operate in one of the number of networking environments and, in this regard, will include a communications processor dedicated to processing data packets in accordance with a single communication protocol. With the acceptance and proliferation of multiple network types and associated protocols, it has become desirable to create a network device that functions in multiple network architectures and, in this regard, with multiple network protocols.
A conventional approach to such multi-network networking devices generally requires that the network device be endowed with multiple communications processors, i.e., one each for each of the communication protocols to be supported by the network device. Employing multiple communication devices within such a network device can, however, greatly increase the cost of the network device. Moreover, such a solution, which is fundamentally based in hardware, is not extensible to accommodate future network architectures and/or communication protocols.
Another, more recent, approach to such a multi-network networking device is to fabricate a communications processor with the circuitry necessary to support a predetermined number of communication protocols. Again, such an approach is rather costly, as the fabricated device does not really reduce the amount of circuitry necessary to support the pre-determined number of communication protocols, but merely integrates it within a single package. Moreover, as above, inasmuch as the solution is fundamentally based on hardware, it is not extensible to accommodate newly developed networking architectures or communication protocols.